Author: Bridget McGill

Wendell Berry

When despair of the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of sill water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free

Mother Teresa prayed this daily with her Sisters.

Dear Jesus,
help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Thy spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly
that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.
Shine through me, and be so in me
that every should I come in contact with
may feel Thy presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me
but only Jesus!

— Blessed John Henry Newman

Pope Francis

This is a spectacular message of Pope Francis. “There is no perfect family. We don’t have perfect parents, we are not perfect, we don’t get married with a perfect person nor do we have perfect kids. We have complaints of each other. We were disappointed to each other. Therefore, there is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. Without forgiveness the family becomes a theatre of conflict and a bastion of grievances. Without forgiveness the family gets sick. Forgiveness is the sterilization of the soul, the cleaning of the mind and the liberation of the heart. Who does not forgive has no peace of soul nor communion with God. The pain is a poison that intoxicates and kills. Save a wound of the heart is a self-destructive gesture. It is autophagy. Who does not forgive sickens physically, emotionally and spiritually. That’s why the family has to be a place of life and not of death; territory of healing and not of disease; stage of forgiveness and not of guilt. Forgiveness brings joy where sorrow produced pain; and healing, where pain caused disease.” Pope Francis.

Eileen Mathy and I had 10 directees. We had to move to a larger venue to accommodate this enrollment! We interspersed the presentations on Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Henri Nouwen with reflective activities – constructing a personal timeline, a tree of life, and composition of a prayer.

Beyond this we had multiple locations for directees to visit. A meditation space lit with candles and naturalized by river rocks, potpourri and sea sounds.  A conference room was filled with panels on display about Dorothy Day’s life. Several small lounges were available for reflective time activities.

A breakfast of coffee and pastries began the day. A silent lunch was conducive to focusing on our themes.  Quiet guided contemplation was experienced.  Small displays of books were available for reading. Time to share one’s story was a part of this retreat.

Retreat feedback was given and the quiet reflective times were appreciated the most. Additional comments were “great hospitality and ambience” and “very spiritually enriching.” One final comment was “I feel a tremendous sense of the closeness of God to all of us.”

A fellow Spiritual Director stated “Bridget’s Brigid’s Well and Eileen’s Mathy House are warm welcoming places for those of us who would like ongoing spiritual companionship. This short retreat reflected that warm welcome in many ways.”

Bridget McGill and Eileen Mathy will present a day of reflection at St. Patrick’s on April 9, from 9am-3pm. Bridget and Eileen are spiritual directors in the diocese of Peoria, trained by Fr. Albert Haase and Jessie Vicha. Bridget runs Brigid’s Well, and Eileen is a clinical social worker in private practice.

What is spiritual direction? And what drew you to the practice?!

Bridget: Spiritual Direction is companioning a person along his pathway to discern the presence of God in his life. It is led by through Holy Spirit. After years of service at St. Patrick Parish in various ministries I felt called to serve in a different capacity. Beyond 12 years of Catholic School education I began to explore different programs and was drawn to learn about Spiritual Direction. My yearning for a deeper relationship with God was fulfilled by Spiritual Direction and now I can journey with others as they discover what God is up to on their life.

Eileen: In my life I have often appreciated times of silence and contemplation. Quieting my mind helps me to open up to the impressions of the Holy Spirit and new awarenesses. I like to create opportunities for others to do the same. Spiritual direction compliments the practice of mental health counseling but it is also distinctly different. Typically a directee will come with a concern or an area of growth. Through active listening, we work towards greater psychological and emotional understanding, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, deeper spiritual impressions. It is always a privilege to journey with others through this process

Tell us about this day of reflection.

Eileen: We are really excited to focus our attention on three great leaders of the faith who have experienced personal transformations.  Our hope is that we will become more aware of those defining moments in our own lives.

Bridget: Together we will look at Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Henri Nouwen.

THOMAS MERTON was a trappist monk.  In his writings he describes an early life of agnoticism until a very mystical moment where he was drawn into communion with God. As a religious he did much for the aim of promoting unity among the world’s Christian churches and interfaith dialogue.  Through reflecting on Thomas Merton, we will explore times in our lives when faith became real and our lives were transformed.

DOROTHY DAY is the founder of the Catholic Worker movement. Her journey suggests to us that when we see life through the eyes of the poor, and our lives are lived in response to that awareness, a deep spirituality and engagement in social transformation can result.  Dorothy encourages all of us to seek God’s purpose in our lives.

HENRI NOUWEN is a gifted lecturer and celebrated writer on the spiritual life.  He often wrote about his battles with depression and self esteem, observing how others lived out their lives with innate challenges.  Henri’s life speaks of a man in search of his true self.

What is Brigid’s Well?

Eileen: While I see directees at my office in Champaign, Bridget created this great little space for reading and reflection.

Bridget:  Hidden within The Magic Needle it is located a stone’s throw from St. Patrick Church. It contains a reading library that includes text written by women, a private prayer space, and room for group or individual spiritual direction. A religious center it purpose is to be a font of inspiration. You can contact me at stbrigidswell@yahoo.com. 

How do people sign up for the Day of Reflection?

Bridget: To join us for our Day of Reflection fill out the enrollment sheet, include a check for $10 and mail it to: Bridget McGill, 2500 Brownfield Rd.  Urbana, Illinois, 61802

Eileen: Sign up sheets are available in the church office and on the table in the foyer.  The $10 fee covers lunch.  We hope you will consider joining us as we look together at transformations in faith, purpose and self

St. Brigid of Ireland Second only to Saint Patrick as a patron of Ireland, Saint Brigid (St. Bride) holds a cross woven from rushes (“St. Brigid’s cross”), which was her custom to make when she was instructing the pagans, and which are hung anew in Irish homes each year on her feastday. In the other hand she holds a bowl of “Saint Brigid’s fire,” a miraculous fire which burned at her convent for centuries. Born in Ireland in the 5th Century, St. Brigid’s parents were baptized by St. Patrick, with whom she developed a close friendship. Her father was Dubhthach, an Irish chieftain of Lienster, and her mother, Brocca, was a slave at his court. Even as a young girl she evinced an interest for a religious life and took the veil in her youth from St. Macaille at Croghan and probably was professed by St. Mel of Armagh, who is believed to have conferred abbatial authority on her. She settled with seven of her virgins at the foot of Croghan Hill for a time and about the year 468, followed Mel to Meath. About the year 470 she founded a double monastery at Cill-Dara (Kildare) and was Abbess of the convent, the first in Ireland. The foundation developed into a center of learning and spirituality, and around it grew up the Cathedral city of Kildare. She founded a school of art at Kildare and its illuminated manuscripts became famous, notably the Book of Kildare, which was praised as one of the finest of all illuminated Irish manuscripts before its disappearance three centuries ago. She died at Kildare on February 1. She is buried at Downpatrick with St. Columba and St. Patrick, with whom she is the patron of Ireland. Her name is sometimes Bridget and Bride. Her feast day is February 1.

– See more at: http://www.monasteryicons.com/product/st-brigid-icon-396/women-saints#sthash.C7IQ7pLF.pdf

I and fellow Spiritual Director Eileen Mathy will present a retreat called TRANSFORMATION Day of Reflection. Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Henri Nouwen will be part of our focus.

These three great persons of faith display finding Faith, finding Purpose and finding Self. Come discover your life as a sacred journey and the moments that have transformed you.

Saturday April 9, 2016 9am-3pm

St Patrick Parish Lounge

$10 fee for lunch

Registration open contact

Bridget McGill stbrigidswell@yahoo.com

On Thursday February 25th 2016 St. Brigid’s Well will be Blessed by my Pastor Father Joseph Hogan at 8am. What Good News! I will be posting pictures shortly of the interior of this space. I have several good friends and my husband who will join the festivities. We plan to start with attending 7am Mass at St. Patrick Church, Urbana. Of  course afterward I will serve Sr. Brigid’s oatcakes with lashings of Irish tea!

This is how I began my Rule of Life:

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye” Le Petit Prince (1943) is a novel by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, translated into English as The Little Prince.

Growing up my mother said to me “You have a kind heart.” Later in high school “The Little Prince” was read over the intercom system by my principal Sister Mary Catherine. This quote, and many words about the heart, spoken by these two strong women role models, have stuck in my memory ever since. In relation to God, my family, and others and I will strive to remain heart-centered.

But what is a Rule of Life? This is one definition.

“A Rule of Life is an intentional pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. A Rule establishes a rhythm for life in which is helpful for being formed by the Spirit, a rhythm that reflects a love for God and respect for how he has made us. The disciplines which we build into our rhythm of life help us to shed the “old self” and allow our “new self” in Christ to be formed. Spiritual disciplines are means of grace by which God can nourish us. Ultimately a Rule should help you to love God more….” – http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/338

In my mind this rhythm of life should (after a time) become second nature. It should be revisited quarterly and revised as needed! But ultimately as “God is Love” starting from the heart center as I have is a good beginning. I am terrible at sitting still so I make music and movement part of my Rule of Life. I am my nature an activist so when my Pastor was concerned about liability issues if I did Spiritual Direction on the Parish premises I chose to found St. Brigid’s Well. I am Celtic by birth and after much reading and reflection and visiting a Brigid’s Well in Ireland I decided to use this name.